Black New York City shop owner alleges she was spat on, assaulted over Kamala Harris poster
"I need him to be held accountable," said Tanya Young Williams.
When Tanya Young Williams put a poster of Vice President Kamala Harris in the window of her New York City clothing boutique, she said she thought it would prompt smiles in her Manhattan neighborhood.
But on Wednesday, she alleged in an interview with ABC News that the poster provoked a man to yell at her, spit in her face, and push her outside her shop.
Williams, the owner of Tanya's Luxury Fashion Boutique on the Upper West Side, and an alum of the VH1 series "Basketball Wives," told ABC News that the man who allegedly assaulted her was wearing a Trump T-shirt.
A New York Police Department spokesperson told ABC News that the department is investigating the alleged crime as an assault in the third degree – a class A misdemeanor. The incident, which happened in the 20th precinct, is not being investigated as a hate crime but could be escalated to such an investigation depending on the evidence uncovered, the spokesperson said.
Williams said she was standing in the doorway of her store around 1:30 p.m. ET on Aug. 30 when the man, who has not been identified, walked by her and then came back after apparently noticing the large poster of the Democratic presidential nominee displayed in her window along with T-shirts supporting Harris' run for the White House.
"He said, 'You should have this in your window,'" she said of the man who allegedly pointed to his T-shirt touting Harris' opponent, former President Donald Trump. "I moved toward him to keep him sort of out of the store and said, 'I'm supporting Kamala.'"
Williams, who opened her store in February, said she initially thought she and the man would engage in friendly banter over the presidential campaign. But then things quickly escalated when she said he told her why she and other Black voters should support Trump.
"I knew there was no benefit to engaging him because there was no conversation to be had. Because I would not do that, he spits towards me," Williams said. "And at that moment, I had a decision to make: Should I knock him the hell out, which I could have, or do I try to get hold of him and call the police."
She said the man spat at her again, in her face, and she reached out and grabbed him by the shoulders and told witnesses gathered around them to call the police.
Williams said she became distracted and the man allegedly pushed her, causing her to injure herself when the back of her head hit her door.
As the man backed away, she said she ripped off a piece of his shirt that contained a button reading, "We stand with Israel." Williams showed ABC News the torn section of clothing and button, which she said the man left behind, and she later showed police officers who quickly responded to the 911 calls reporting the incident.
"This is not OK. I need him to be held accountable," Williams said. "I need him to be an example that you cannot attack someone, that you cannot spit on someone, you cannot violate someone's space because you disagree with his or her position."
Williams said that during the encounter, the man allegedly yelled racial slurs at her.
An NYPD source told ABC News that Williams did not tell police who initially interviewed her that the man yelled racial slurs at her. The source said detectives have called Williams several times since the incident looking to interview her further, but she has not responded.
Williams is the mother of two daughters and the ex-wife of former NBA star Jayson Williams, who pled guilty to aggravated assault in the 2002 accidental shooting of a limousine driver.
Police said they are looking for video of the alleged incident and are still attempting to speak to witnesses.
No arrests have been made and police have not identified the alleged perpetrator, police said.
Williams, however, said she has fully cooperated with the police and told the officers who took her initial statement about the racial slurs. She said she also showed the officers the torn section of the man's shirt, but they did not take it as evidence.
Asked if she has thought of removing the poster of Harris from her window, Williams said, "There's not a possibility that the poster will come down."